Whats found Beneath
by ellyxo
Summary: Bruno and Gretel's mysterious English cousin arrives at the house. Catching the eye of Lieutenant Kotler, much to Gretel's dismay, and trying to come to terms with her family. First story, more to come, open to suggestions, etc... Enjoy :)


'I'm bored.' Bruno declared, kicking up a cloud of dusty mud from beneath his shoes. He had been bored since breakfast and couldn't find a thing to do. Gretel refused to play with him on the grounds of it being too cold outside.

'Why don't you go and read a book?' Lieutenant Kotler suggested. He didn't mind Herr Commandants son lingering around him, for he had nothing else to do other than polish the car.

'I've read all the good ones now, and mother wont buy me any more.' Bruno sighed, picking up a handful of pebbles and scattering them back on the floor.

'Here, you can help me with this then.' The Lieutenant replied, throwing the boy a rag and tilting his head towards the car.

'I don't think I'm that bored yet.' Bruno moaned, throwing the filthy damp rag onto the bonnet of the car. Bruno kicked the gravel once more and headed towards the house.

Before he pushed the door open, he heard the engine of a car roar. He looked over his shoulder, expecting to see another military vehicle. A taxi had stopped in front of the house. Bruno was intrigued. He turned around but couldn't quite see who was getting out. The driver opened the door and then rushed to the boot. A woman in a black tailored suit got out and walked around to the back of the car. The majority of her face was covered by a black hat. Kurt and Bruno found themselves to be observing the activities beyond the gate. The driver left her bags on the floor and she turned and looked up at the house. She took off her hat and revealed a head of long, styled, strawberry-blonde hair.

'Eva!' Bruno cheered. He ran up to the gate and rattled it, sliding across the iron lock. The woman knelt down and squeezed Bruno, before standing up and picking up her cases.

'Let me help you.' Kurt offered, taking all three of her cases from her.

'Thank you.' She smiled.

'Eva, this is Lieutenant Kotler. He works for Father.' Bruno croaked, swarming around her.

'It's nice to meet you Lieutenant.' She giggled, preoccupied with Bruno. 'Where is your Father Bruno?' She added.

'In his office. Oh he will be so excited to see you!' Bruno went on, occasionally stopping for breath. He grabbed her hand and led her into the house. He scurried towards his Father's office door and knocked.

'Eva?' Gretel interrupted.

'Father, come see who's here!' Bruno cried out. Kurt put the cases at the foot of the stairs and waited to discover more information about the mysterious woman.

'Eva? What are you doing here?' He laughed, embracing her in a tight hug. They both stepped back and smiled.

'You know how my Father gets when we don't see eye to eye.' Eva sighed, still with a beaming smile on her face.

'Ah, Kurt, could you take my nieces bags to the spare room?' Herr Commandant asked. Kurt nodded and took them upstairs. He stopped and spoke to Maria whilst she made up the bed.

Downstairs the family sat at the kitchen table. Mother and Father smiled whilst they watched over the children as they sat in anticipation at the stories their cousin told. She told them stories that she had read in a book she found on the train. It told stories of spies and international espionage. At this point, Father stood up and ushered the children out of the kitchen. Mother smiled at Eva, who had bowed her head in fear of speaking out of term. Once they had left, he closed the door and sat back down.

'Eva, what exactly has happened between you and your father?' Herr Commandant asked. He spoke in an understanding tone and had obviously had a similar conversation with her before.

'He's an imbecile. I cannot stand to be around his wretched children any longer. He has forced me to live with Alexandria and her husband.' She ranted.

'You are always welcome here, Darling. You know that don't you?' Mother interjected.

'I do, and I'm forever grateful to you all. I can pay my own way, I don't wish to be a burden on you.' Eva croaked, convinced they were bluffing and didn't want her there at all.

'No. You may stay as long as you like and you may save your money. I recall how much you suffered when your mother passed, and how your father turned a blind eye.' Herr Commandant stood up and smiled. Mother stood up beside him and she told them of their plans to journey into the town.

Eva stayed sat at the kitchen table for another ten minutes after they had left. She could hear the footsteps of Maria and the children as they played upstairs. She thought back to how she reacted when she was told her mother had died. She would never forget her actions, and how she embarrassed herself. She shook of the grim thoughts and rose from the table. She closed the kitchen door gently behind her and jumped when she turned around to find a German soldier in a similar grey outfit to the one Lieutenant Kotler wore.

'What are you doing here?' The soldier snapped.

'Excuse me?' Eva replied, confused and alarmed at his seemingly violent temperament. He forced her back into the door.

'Are you deaf? Tell me what the fuck you are doing in this house!' He was shouting now. Terrified, she was instilled and couldn't think of what to say. His eyes seemed to get wider the longer he waited for a response. His attached his hand around her throat and gripped tightly. She began to gasp when she heard footsteps from the one of the drawing rooms.

'Adler! What on earth do you think you're doing?' Lieutenant Kotler shouted, dashing towards the girl and pulling her away from him. She pulled herself away from Kurt and clung to the wall.

'Lieutenant, Sir, I have found this woman in the house.' The solider cowered, taking a step back and standing to attention.

'This lady is Herr Commandants niece. And rest assured, I shall be informing him of this incident.' Kotler barked, dismissing the soldier and attending to Eva. The children and Maria were stood at the top of the stairs and spied on the pair.

'Are you alright?' Kurt questioned, placing his hand on her shoulder and trying to see the other side of her face.

'I'm fine. Thank you.' She quivered. Obviously shaken up, she hurried away back into the kitchen and into the yard for some fresh air. It was small and paved, there were a few tomatoes growing in a large pot in the corner, and there was some ivy growing up a wall. She needed more space and darted straight for the gate and into the woodland. She struggled from the height of her shoes on the rugged ground. She stumbled over some twigs before she sat against a large tree. She sat here for a few short minutes before thoughts of the spies from her book appearing around her. She made haste back to the house, again, finding it difficult to manage the ground beneath her. A few metres before the gate she caught her foot beneath a twig and fell. She screamed. She managed to swing her legs around so she was sat with them bent beside her. She inspected the graze to her arm and the pain coming from her foot. She found a deep cut which had mud and dirt inside and around it. She heard the garden gate swing open and hit the wall. As she looked up she saw Kurt stood in the frame. Embarrassed, she pulled herself up and tried to walk towards him. Suddenly, there was an immense shot of pain in her foot. The Lieutenant ran towards her and held her arm. They didn't speak to one another, he just put her arm around his shoulder and helped her hobble inside. He sat her down on the kitchen table and further inspected her foot. She took off her shoe as he fetched a first aid bag from the cupboard. He cleaned the wound as best he could, occasionally making her flinch and pull back her foot from his lap. He would reassure her by looking up and smiling and then returning t.

'Thank you.' She sniffled, putting her foot back on the ground and standing up.

'Would you like some help getting to your room?' Kotler offered, also standing and seeing that she was already finding standing difficult.

'Uh, no, thank you. I think I should manage it.'

'If you're sure.'

'I am.' She slipped off her remaining shoe and picked up the other and limped away.

He watched her and speculated over her sudden coldness over him. She was fine when she arrived earlier, and he had helped her when Adler confronted her. He sat and rested his head in his hand for a few minutes, before walking back out to the car. He was dismissed when Herr Commandant returned and allowed to return to his small house, about a hundred metres away from the main one.

He distracted himself from his confusing day and decided to walk down the lane for some fresh air. He didn't expect to see the three younger members of the main house running down the lane, pushing Bruno in a kart, especially Eva. She had changed into a pair of three-quarter length slacks, flat brogues and a jumper. She laughed hard, revealing beautiful white teeth. Gretel pushed the kart on a sharp angle which caused it to tip over, throwing Bruno a couple of metres from the kart and Eva straight over the top of it. They didn't seem phased as Eva crawled over to Bruno, checked he was fine, and started to laugh just as hard as she was before. Kurt ran over to the two hysterical children on the ground and stared at them. Gretel furiously crossed her arms in response to Kurt's ignoring her. Bruno and Eva both looked at Kurt, and then to each other again before entering another bout of hysterical laughter. Kurt joined in this time and pulled them both up from the concrete. Bruno had scraped his knee but it didn't bother him.

'Who's go is it next?' Lieutenant Kotler inquired.

'I seem to think its Gretel's turn.' Eva coughed, brushing herself down. She knew about her cousins feeling towards Kotler, and even though she knew they wouldn't amount to anything, she still found herself trying to help her.

'I'll push! I'll push!' Bruno cried out, already pushing his sister who had only just sat down. The youngest of the four dashed down the lane and played on a piece of grass by the roadside, whilst the eldest strolled in the dusk.


End file.
